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Journal: |
I woke up to find, happily, that the rain had cleared overnight
and it was clear and sunny outside. I left the hotel at 7:45am
after breakfast and, after spending 15 minutes in the small
supermarket in town getting some supplies, started walking seriously
at 8am, with the goal of maintaining a good pace (without racing!).
Penkridge was just waking up as I walked through the high street on
my way to the Staffordshire & Worcestershire Canal which passed
through the eastern fringes of the town. I was now
predominantly following another long-distance footpath, the
Staffordshire Way which, like the Shropshire Way, wasn't heavily
used and spent a lot of time following the overgrown edges of
fields.
The guidebook wasn't too positive about the day's walking to
Abbotts Bromley, but it turned out better than I expected. The
initial kilometres along the Canal were very pleasant and there was
a lot to look at. A mix of long barges ranging from those
looking very lived in, to the sparkling well-equipped ones which
were hired out to holiday-makers. The locks, lock-keepers
cottages and bridges were all very historic and well-kept and, on
the side opposite to the towpath where I walked, houses with
immaculate gardens and barge landing docks were also interesting.
All too soon, the route left the Canal and I spent an hour
slogging across sodden grass fields and nettle patches where the
footing was difficult and the walking hard. However, that soon
passed and the route crossed Cannock Chase, a large area of
undulating forests and heathland criss-crossed with many grassy
walking paths and bridleways. It looked like a great place to
run a classic English cross-country race, and I'm sure many of my
friends will have done so. I met quite a lot of walkers,
riders and mountain-bike riders enjoying a pleasant spring day on
the Chase.
Then it was back to canal towpath walking, this time along the
Trent & Mersey Canal, with the same kinds of barges, locks and
bridges. Nearby was also a main rail-line along which
high-speed, aero-dynamic, and flashily-painted Virgin trains seem to
pass every fifteen minutes or so. Around noon, the path left
the Canal and headed north-east to the village of Colton, where I
found a pub and had lunch. Checking the map, I could see that
I was making good time, and would easily reach the guide-book
target, Abbotts Bromley, in the early afternoon. This put me
on track to cover the extra 10km to Uttoxeter, where I had much more
chance of getting accommodation for the night. I left the pub
around 1:15pm and, after some more field walking and crossing the
long Blithfield Reservoir wall, reached Abbotts Bromley at 2:30pm.
Here I had the choice of following the guide-book (Staffordshire
Way) route across 10km of field margin footpaths, or walking the
same distance along the main road. I decided the latter would
be faster and no less scenic, although I would have to deal with
traffic on a road with narrow verges for a couple of hours.
I travelled cautiously, getting off the road into the bordering
hedges, for oncoming vehicles, but still made good time and reached
the centre of Uttoxeter soon after 4:30pm. I tried a hotel in
the middle of the small historic market town, but the barmaid told
me it was £50 just for a room (no breakfast). I said it was a
bit high for my budget and could she suggest anywhere else.
She named one other hotel, but said she thought their rates were the
same, and then she thought of a guesthouse a few minutes walk away,
which might have lower prices. I thanked her and said I would
come back if they were no better. She then insisted that she
would ring them on my behalf to save me the walk, and did so,
telling them I would be right down when she heard the price was £35
B&B and they had a room. How nice was that!
I found the guesthouse and checked in, having noted a cheap and
cheerful pub on the way down that would do for dinner. I
texted my 2004 Three Peaks team-mate, Stephen, to tell him I had
arrived and the name of the pub, so that he could meet me there for
dinner, which he duly did. The only time Stephen and I have
spent together over the years was that Three Peaks event, but our
shared near-death seasick experience on the yacht ferry trip down to
Barmouth had forged a great bond and we had a very pleasant evening,
during which he pretty much sold me on his new sport of
para-gliding.
To top off a very nice day, my feet were the best they have been
for weeks, touch wood!
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